By The Sea
by WonderfulCaricature
Summary: Elphaba sat at the edge of the pier, staring down at the clear water below her. Wondering what would happen, she clenched her jaw and dipped a foot into the cold and unforgiving sea.
1. Chapter 1

**The very basic idea for this has been in my head for a few months now, and having a long to-do list has propelled me to write it, naturally.**

 **It's very much AU and will be Fiyeraba, in due time.**

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A storm was brewing on the horizon. Dark clouds pillowed on top of one another, and something in the air foretold the coming tempest. The animals that inhabited the coast, normally loud and active, remained silent and hidden away or hurrying to hide. The waves crashed on the beach with more frequency and power, warning any stragglers to seek safety. Sailors on the ships docked at the harbor shouted at one another in their preparation, and soon the sounds of crates being moved and last minute line checks sounded more like cacophony. But the air was still, and Elphaba shifted uncomfortably from inside the seaside tavern.

The last time a storm hit this part of Munchkinland, it was relentless. Rain for days, and at its peak the wind took out most of the glass in its immediate path, which included the tavern. Elphaba had suited up to the point where she was certain no water could touch her, and then she and Glinda spent the better part of a week clearing out and cleaning up the tavern. It took even longer for them to get the windows fixed. Everyone was looking for replacements, and they had no sway in the small seaside town. They had to wait their turn, like everyone else, and hope that there was no lingering showers or gusts.

They had paid for the heavier glass, though, and Elphaba hoped it was enough to save their poor tavern from another storm. It was a dismal amount of hope, but she didn't think the shop could afford another large window replacement. She supposed they could always find the owner and drag him back by his ear; but he had stopped writing them months ago, and the address he gave them was a dud, according to their friends in the Emerald City. In all but deed, the tavern was their problem, including its expenses.

Glinda came down from the upper rooms that were rented out to boarders. She had a tray of uneaten food in her hands and slammed it down on the bar, jerking Elphaba out of slight trance the sea and storm had put her in.

" _Bring me food, Glinda._ _I can't eat this without ale, Glinda. This ale is weak, Glinda. Take it all away, Glinda_ " the blonde seethed. "If he wasn't such a great tipper, I would kick him out, Elphie."

"He's only like this when he's sick," Elphaba assured her. "Soon enough he'll be back to his old self, dogging all the other customers."

"I certainly hope so," Glinda replied, storing the food away for the next person. She looked out the front window, frowning at the horizon, "these windows better hold." Glinda made a noise and then patted Elphaba's arm, "I'll take the trash out tonight, and you can take Mister Nit Picky his evening whiskey."

"Thanks, Glinda."

"Well, I'd rather not deal with both of you in a tizzy," she said but smiled affectionately.

As was typical, when the first raindrop fell, ushering in the rest of the storm slowly, the tavern filled with sailors and harbor workers lucky enough to have the night free. Business was never bad. They always had a steady stream of dock workers and were hardly in short supply of sailors at the port. But there was no better activity than drinking to wait out a storm. So when Elphaba and Glinda saw the first drop on the windowpane, they roused Crope and Tibbett from their cat nap in the back.

Elphaba and Tibbett stayed behind the bar most of the night. It was probably unnecessary for both of them to be back there, but Tibbett was better at making the cocktails while Elphaba just refused to work the floor. She wasn't friendly like Crope and Glinda, who could weasel anyone into another drink or a larger tip. And she felt more secure behind the bar, gathering the beers, ales, and ciders. Besides, no one really made trouble in the tavern when they saw the mean looking green bitch behind the bar. Most of them were convinced she was a witch who could turn them into a toad, and the others knew it was better to stay out of sight or on her good side when they were in the tavern.

Two newcomers entered the tavern, bringing in a gust of wind with them, but no one paid them any mind. They headed straight to Elphaba's end of the bar, and she recoiled when they leaned against the bar, soaking wet.

"Please tell me you have a room available," the burlier of the two said.

Tibbett slide up next to Elphaba and grinned at the two, "You can share my room any day."

"What about yours?" the burly one smirked at her, leaning even closer.

Elphaba grabbed a nearby glass and drove the butt of it against his fingers where they clutched the edge of the bar. The burly one jumped back with a yelp, and his companion inched away from the bar. Beside the them, one of the tavern's regulars looked over his shoulder and grunted something before returning to his drink with a shake of his head.

"We're booked to capacity," Elphaba replied, gathering two mugs up.

"We're desperate here, please," the other one pressed.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. "Kick someone out? Do you know a business is run?"

He and his friend exchanged looks, and he shrugged with, "Something similar, you could say."

"Then you should know you're wasting your breath."

"Really, doll, we'll take anything," the burly one said.

"I've got a tent," Tibbett offered, frowning pitifully at the two.

They levelled him with a glare, and the burly one answered, "You want us to pitch a tent in a storm. Are you mad?"

"It's likely the best offer you'll get," Elphaba replied, setting two mugs of ale in front of them. "First drink's on the house."

Tibbett gave the two a sympathetic smile and returned to his end of the bar while Elphaba filled the next order for Crope. The latter milled around the two newcomers, taking in their appearance before scrunching his nose in disinterest. It was clear neither of them were from Munchkinland, noble blood or commoner. Elphaba didn't want to assume, but she was pretty sure they were both from the Vinkus. But the Vinkus was a long way off, and in the few years she'd been at the tavern, never had she seen a Vinkun at the bar. She supposed that's why the men looked so Vinkun to her, since she'd yet to see anyone who looked or sounded quite like them. She would've asked, but small talk wasn't her thing.

"We'll take the tent," the burly man's friend decided after they finished their mugs.

The burly man sneered into his empty mug but otherwise kept his comments to himself. His friend ordered another round of drinks as Tibbett left to gather up the tent, which Elphaba was fairly certain had seen better days. The two maybe-Vinkuns spoke to each other in hushed whispers while Elphaba made herself busy behind the bar. A few of the tavern's regulars were particularly irritated that night, so she tried to hover near them and fill their mugs before their beers reached too low of a point. If it didn't lighten their mood, it would at least get them drunk, which always made them a little happy.

Outside, the wind and rain began to pick up. And as men started falling asleep in their seats, thunder and lightning joined the fray until Elphaba was sure the storm was touching land. She watched the raindrops pelt against the window. It could be too early to tell, but it looked to her like the window would hold up this time.

As the night lagged on, most of the drunkards cleared out. Some found their rooms upstairs, others braved the storm, and a handful remained slumped against tables or the bar where they'd remain until their wife or whore collected them. The two newcomers had left a while back when there seemed to be a slump in the storm. They hurried off into the night, toward the beach, to take advantage of the brief lull. All in all, despite the storm outside, the night had been a relatively good one. Patrons had tipped well. No one started a fight. And they hadn't had to call a medic in for one reason or another.

"And we didn't get groped," Glinda added, motioning between herself and Crope, who nodded eagerly.

Tibbett flipped a coin off his thumb and grunted when it hit the edge of the shot glass in the middle of the four of them. Grimacing, he downed the glass, refilled it, and passed the coin to Glinda. Her flip made it into the glass, and she pushed the shot toward Tibbett. He groaned loudly but accepted the shot before Crope filled it up again.

"I do feel bad about those poor foreign blokes," Tibbett comment as Elphaba's flip made it into the glass. He watched her warily as she glanced around the table and then narrowed his eyes when she grinned at him. "Traitor," he muttered then shot the drink back.

"We should have kicked Mister Nit Picky out of his room," Glinda said. Crope missed his shot. Tibbett laughed at the look on Crope's face.

"He's sick, Glinda," Elphaba lightly chided.

"I know, I know," she replied with a wave of her hand.

Tibbett passed out first much to Crope's delight. He gathered his earnings from Glinda and Elphaba, each of whom thought Tibbett would be the last man standing. After he stayed with them, gloating for a while, he hauled Tibbett to his feet and struggled to steer him towards their rooms in the back of the tavern. Everything was to go smoothly after that. Glinda would take out the trash and mop the floor while Elphaba stacked the stools, chairs, and benches before stowing the earnings away in the safe. Then Elphaba would stay awake for another hour or so, reading at the bar by candlelight, as Glinda tucked away for the night in the master bedroom they shared upstairs.

It should have gone that way.

Glinda went to bed immediately after taking out the trash, careful to avoid Elphaba. She gave a small wave at the top of the stairs before disappearing, though. For the life of her, Elphaba couldn't concentrate on her book. Instead, she went back to the safe and recounted the earnings to be sure. She fronted all the liquor and re-cleaned the taps. She wasn't tired, and she knew she'd just keep Glinda up if she went to lay down now.

Shouts outside caught her attention when she tried to get back to her book, though. As she approached the front window, she could see the silhouettes of the two newcomers through the tent. They were yelling at each other with arms waving animatedly. The burly one's friend shoved him before scrambling out of the tent, and the two resumed their argument. Their shouts cut off when the wind caught something, stealing it away in violent directions before landing close enough at the water's edge for a receding wave to grab it. Both of the men abandoned their argument and chased after whatever it was. Elphaba scoffed. They were going to get themselves killed.

Sure enough, before she could finish an eye roll, both of them dove into the unruly sea. Elphaba's stomach jumped to her throat, and she took a step toward the glass, pressing her face to it to get a better look. After two brutal waves, Elphaba lost sight of both of them. She'd need to call the police or mayor or someone. As she took a step away from the window, a small sound caught her attention. She looked back out to the sea, where she saw the burly man struggling against the waves, but the sound cracked again, drawing Elphaba's attention to the window in front of her.

Elphaba cried out when a beat later, the next gust of wind shattered the glass before her. She brought her arms up to shield her face from the glass, but the rush of window fragments buried into every surface available while the rain hit her like darts. Unobstructed, the rain poured into the tavern, soaking everything in its path. Elphaba stumbled to the side. Even over the roar of the storm, she could hear the maybe Vinkun shouting for help, and she felt compelled despite the burning sensation ripping through her and promise of pain waiting outside and in the damned sea.

The rain felt like flickering white fire against her skin, and, as if to torment her, seemed to pick up as she tore into the night. The damage was already done, though, she could feel it. It wouldn't have mattered if the rain beat heavy or receded. She did her best to block it out. But when she peeled her sweater over her head and the rain assaulted her bare shoulders, Elphaba let out another cry. She couldn't let the damned fools drown, though, not when she could help. So she pressed on, breaking into a full sprint when she lost sight of the burly man and his friend.

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 **Ehhhh?**

 **The first few chapters will be relatively short before stretching to my normal word count.**

 **Anyway, yay? nay?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Why, hello there, my pets.**

 **Here's this. Enjoy some unanswered questions.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Elphaba woke up in pain. She was certain she could feel every cell on her body shifting and protesting against whatever material was now draped over her. Was she burning up or freezing? She couldn't rightly tell, but Elphaba didn't have the energy to figure it out. She did force herself to open her eyes, though, and found herself staring at a familiar ceiling with dried herbs hanging from wooden rafters. There were worse places she could end up, she supposed.

The small house she was holed up in was a one room with a detached outhouse. It's furnishings were rather bare with the bed she was in, a bistro table that doubles as a desk, and an arm chair that had clothes strewn over it more often than not. The window sills and counters served as bookshelves for tomes, recipe books, and really just to hold little knick knacks. Elphaba glanced over toward the table where the owner of the house sat, grinding something up with a mortar and pestle.

Avaric Tenmeadow's face was twisted in concentration with his tongue poking out between his lips. His shirt was hanging over the back of his chair, leaving him only in his underwear and an apron he usually wore when working. There were a few off-colored rough patches at his left hip and a line of indigo running down the length of his outer calf. Her gaze raked up his body again to something on his neck. A scratch maybe? It hadn't been there the last time she saw him. Elphaba watched him work in silence. She was certain he knew she was up but appreciated that he would leave her be.

Eventually, when Avaric was done with his task and Elphaba's pain had eased, she shifted her position to try and sit up. Avaric glanced over at her and back down at his ingredients. Elphaba looked down at her right arm. It was wrapped up with gauze and felt stiff when she moved it. The glass from the broken window, she imagined.

"You were careless," Avaric said to the chamomile in his hands.

"Oh, yeah, the storm blowing out my window is most definitely my fault. I should have prayed for the storm to be kind. You're right."

Avaric sent her a glare before grabbing a glass container from the mess of his work station.

"You know what I mean."

Elphaba pawed at the gauze wrapping, pushing it down her arm and hissing lightly as it rubbed roughly against her skin. An array of blues speckled her forearm, creating a unique pattern around where the glass had penetrated. She scowled and touched the blues lightly. They felt smooth against her fingertip as she stroked downward, tracing from top to bottom. If she didn't hate them so much, Elphaba thought, they might even be mesmerizing. Gradually, though, the blues lightened and gave way to her dry green skin. A familiar color. A safe, comfortable color that Elphaba was content with. When the last bit of rough blue faded, Elphaba glanced over at Avaric to find him watching her intently.

Avaric stood and stretched, his muscles shifting as he raised his arms over his head. Elphaba admired the lines of his tanned body. Crope and Tibbett would be absolutely useless on days Avaric took a blanket out to the beach. If she was being honest, she too would find herself drifting off; but it didn't count if no one saw her. It was silly, she told herself. Avaric acquired that body through no means of his own. He wasn't out there with the workers heaving boxes or doing whatever the hell the sailors did with lines. He wasn't out with Glinda jogging every morning or night. Avaric was a bastard cursed to a family with near-perfect genes and a lifestyle which favored good bodies.

But part of Elphaba was merely a beast, and she would stare lecherously at Avaric like one.

"They would have died," she told Avaric as he kicked a stool to the side of his bed. Elphaba pushed herself up more and mumbled a thanks when Avaric eased her into a more comfortable position.

"They're not your concern. What's the death of two more sailors."

"Tibbett and I put them up in that tent," Elphaba said. She held out her arm as Avaric worked the ointment between his hands and then rubbed up and down the length of her arm. "I would have been responsible if anything had happened."

He hummed in response, but she knew he didn't agree. They'd discuss it later, but once she was out of pain. Avaric was many things, but not a brute. Once he had finished her upper body, Elphaba adjusted her position so he could sit on the bed. It wasn't necessary, but she invited and he accepted. She threw her legs over his and watched him as he applied the ointment carefully.

Elphaba touched the side of his hip where the rough patches still clung, and Avaric squirmed the slightest of bits.

"What happened to your neck?" she asked, trailing a hand up his side to the mark there.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered but applied a little too much pressure of a spot on her thigh that was especially sore. Elphaba let out a gasp and then smacked his shoulder. His lips twitched up in a grin, though.

"What day is it?" she asked when his hands massaged the ointment into her inner thigh.

"You've been out for about three days," he replied.

"Three days?" Elphaba huffed.

Avaric patted the outside of her leg. "Turn around so I can get your back," he said and Elphaba complied. "It's better than it has been, though. The pain you've got is all after affects. There was hardly a burn on your body when I got you here."

"Did you see what those men were after?" she asked. Avaric capped the container, and Elphaba pulled the sheet around herself as she tried to read his expression.

"No, but I could hear them arguing over something. Nothing's washed up on the shore, and no one's seen anything." Avaric untied his apron and hung it on a cabinet handle. "Glinda's got the burly one situated in one of the rooms at the tavern. I heard the doctor say he's feverish and dehydrated. The other one is staying with Boq for the time being."

"Who are they?"

Avaric shrugged before sitting back down beside her. "Vinkuns, to be sure." Elphaba made a noise. Well, she's figured out as much in three seconds and he's had three days. "The conscious one doesn't talk much."

"The last Vinkuns to visit were off chasing some legend."

"I'm aware," Avaric grunted. "So be careful while these ones are so close."

She flashed him a wicked grin, feeling much better than she had ten minutes ago, and gripped his shoulders steady as she straddled his lap. "Are you worried about little ol' me?" Avaric rolled his eyes but without heat. "Do I make your cold heart burn," she continued while her fingers danced down his chest, over the ripple of his muscles, and past the band of his underwear.

"You know I worry," he replied heavily, licking his lips and watching hers intently.

"Because your my superior?" she whispered, pulling her face back when Avaric moved his forward. "Because you're in control? You don't look so in control to me."

Elphaba bit her bottom lip as she grabbed him, and Avaric used up most of his willpower to keep from taking his eyes off her. Her lips hovered over his as his breath came out in quick bursts. And then she stopped. Avaric blinked, and she waited until he had his bearings before shoving him back hard against his mattress. He moaned something incoherently as Elphaba positioned herself over him then ordered him to take her hips as she lowered.

She loved the looks his face made when she rode him. The complete pleasure that danced across it. Sometimes the agony when she wouldn't let him set the pace he wanted. They way he tried to savor those moments right before he let go, when she rode him so hard and so right that he was a blubbering mess. Elphaba loved that she had the power to do that. To turn someone like him, so powerful and intimidating, into putty.

So she was especially peeved when, right before that moment, someone knocked incessantly on Avaric's door.

"Are you kidding me?" Elphaba hissed and slowed her pace, blindly glancing over.

"Leave it," Avaric snapped.

"Fuck," she ground out when he gripped her hips tight and pounded into her.

Elphaba fell forward, pressing her chest against his and meeting his lips in a hot and messy kiss. She may have been silent. She may have cried out. She honestly couldn't say. The only thing she could comprehend in that moment was the pressure building up in her core and that fire just before the two of them were toppling over the edge.

Oz. Her full weight collapsed and draped over Avaric, and he let her stay there until they both weren't wobbly messes. They traded a few wet kisses and a few more chaste ones before Elphaba felt stable enough to make it to the door.

"Shit," Elphaba chuckled, wrapping the sheet around herself again as she stumbled over to the door. "The apothecary is out of commission," she called to the unwanted visitor with another laugh.

She threw open the door after Avaric had tugged on a pair of pants. Both of them blanched at the Vinkun standing on the porch, the burly man's friend.

"I was looking for you, actually."

Elphaba and Avaric frowned at the Vinkun.

"How did you know she'd be here?" Avaric asked, coming beside her.

The Vinkun blushed deeply, "I, um, Master Boq said you sometimes, er, consorted."

"I'll skin him," Elphaba muttered.

The Vinkun looked incredibly uncomfortable standing before them. His eyes darted between them in a careful way not to look below their necks. Elphaba was quite content to speak with him like that, but Avaric was a more compassionate person it seemed and told the Vinkun Elphaba would change first.

"Be careful," he warned her as she pulled on a dress that Glinda must have brought over while she was down and out.

"This isn't my first show, Tenmeadows," she responded with an eye roll. "I work at a tavern, not a happy rainbow cupcake shop."

"Your imagination is truly impressive."

"You've never complained about what my imagination has thought of in the past."

"Just go deal with that mess," Avaric said, waving her away. "I've got orders to deliver before heading back North next week."

"Yes, sir, Your Majesty." Elphaba curtsied, and he threw a twig at her.

"Get out of here, woman."

She left him to his business with a laugh as she shut the door behind her. They weren't a _thing_. They had a _thing_ , but they weren't a _thing_ , as she often reminded Glinda. Neither of them would be able to give the other what they wanted, and it was something they knew well enough. It was physical. Avaric understood aspects of her past, her life better than anyone else, and being able to let out those pent up frustrations was something she enjoyed. So she liked sex. So she liked sex with Avaric. Sue her.

The Vinkun was waiting across the street from Avaric's when Elphaba saw him. He was sitting on the fence, picking at something on his pants, and beating his heel against the wooden support beam. She scowled at him as she approached and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're already at a disadvantage, sir," Elphaba said and began walking the two blocks toward the tavern. "I'd be much more agreeable had I wandered out of that house on my own time."

"Somehow I highly doubt that," the Vinkun replied.

Elphaba made a noncommittal noise. He probably wasn't wrong.

"I need your help," the Vinkun went on.

"I don't know who told you or why you think I can help, but I'm just a tavern wench. I serve beers and tell people to go home." She rounded the corner and could see her poor tavern with a large sheet stretched over where the window had once been.

"I saw you jump," the Vinkun said. Elphaba felt her heart drop but refused to show it. "I saw, well, you know..." he added and trailed off with a furrowed brow.

"It was a long night, kid," Elphaba pressed. "The storm threw off everyone's senses, and no one would blame you for misremembering details. Some of our dock friends came to help you and your brother, and they're who you saw, I'm sure."

"Look," the Vinkun snapped, grabbing Elphaba's sore forearm. She jerked away from him, sneering and brushing past him. "I know you did something to my brother. Not some dock workers. I know who I saw. I don't know what you did, but all it'll take is one word for the entire Arjiki Guard to come swooping down on this place until we find out what."

Elphaba stilled and looked over her shoulder at the Vinkun.

"The Arjiki? I beg your pardon, but who exactly are you?" she asked, though she had a terrible suspicion.

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 **I swear, I _swear_ , this is a Fiyeraba fic. Just, you know, in due time.**

 **Soooooo yes. Keep it real, review (or don') (but please do), and I'll see you next week.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Slowly getting longer chapters!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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The Munchkins held a festival at the start of every season, and each year they attempted to outdo the last. Come rain or shine, they gave the planning, set up, operation, and take down all of the time and effort. Even in the aftermath of the storm—which left windows destroyed, structures overturned, and trees uprooted—the Munchkins called in favor after favor to get the town up and running in time for the summer festival in two weeks. They worked around the clock and were fed adequately by the pastry shop down the street for breakfast, a restaurant served their lunch, and the butcher and baker teamed up for dinner. Everyone pitched in. As such, any business with rooms to spare were mandated to board those helping.

Elphaba and Glinda's tavern was no exception. Glinda, the goodly soul she was, even offered up their bedroom as a triple boarder. So another cot was dragged in; Glinda camped with Crope; and Elphaba told the others she'd see what she could do. She could have slept in the cabin's quarters of one of the ships and made the captain find his port mistress (hadn't she done enough favors for every one of those seadogs?), but she knew they'd be a last resort. Avaric hadn't even batted an eye when she returned to his place two hours later and tossed a small luggage in the corner. She received an eye roll, but it lacked any real fight. It was more obligatory than anything.

The Vinkun who had been rooming with Boq set up a cot in the corner of the unconscious one's room. His brother was still very much unconscious and caused Elphaba to lose herself to her thoughts more often than not in the day she'd been awake. She checked on him at every lull in business, causing the surgeon to throw her agitated glares whenever she poked a head in. Elphaba was careful to not check too much when his brother was present, though. She didn't want him thinking she felt guilty for his current state. Even if she was.

Glinda followed her through the kitchen a couple days after they'd been booted from their room. The conscious Vinkun, Takoda, was in the next town over, gathering something or other he thought might help his brother. Elphaba had a good hour at least to openly worry and fret over the unconscious Vinkun.

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" Glinda asked skeptically. "Doesn't Avaric normally handle these…issues."

Elphaba scoffed. "Of course I know what I'm looking for. What do I look like? A dud?"

"Of course not, Elphie!" Glinda exclaimed. "He's just always seemed more…involved in that stuff."

"I think it's a requirement."

"If you're sure," Glinda replied as a gesture of support, but her tone was anything but supportive. Elphaba threw her a look over her shoulder, which Glinda brushed off with a smile.

Grabbing a few vials of odd ingredients when the tavern's cook wasn't looking, Elphaba and Glinda snuck into bathroom that Crope and Tibbett shared. It was barely enough for two people, so Glinda sat primly on the toilet seat as Elphaba emptied her pockets into the sink and stared down. Of course Glinda was right: Avaric was much better at these things. He studied medicine at Shiz but had a handle of these things long before. Medicine, or whatever hack hubbub this was, was not her specialty. She was much more of a 'grin and get your shit together' kind of person. Even when she was writhing in pain, she couldn't tell you which natural remedies would help her. _It's something you really ought to know, Elphie_ , Glinda reminded her time and time again.

"We could—" Glinda started.

"We're not asking Avaric," Elphaba snapped. "I don't need his bloody help."

Glinda clicked her tongue but remained silent as Elphaba started picking out vials she assumed just wouldn't work. Bay leaves would probably kill him. Lavender had never worked in anything she made before. Chamomile might perpetuate his current circumstances. Squid tentacles might work, but they also might cause him to choke. She considered those for a moment before pocketing them. Best not to take her chances. Elphaba was left with five ingredients: white pepper, whale fat, sage, coriander, and cinnamon.

"Have you tried kissing him?" Glinda asked with a giggle.

Elphaba sneered at her, picking up the sage, pepper, and whale fat then pocketing the rest.

"I didn't—it's not—look, Upland," she said and dug a little of the whale fat out with her pinky. "I didn't kiss him. That's not how it works."

"If it looks like a goat, sounds like a goat…"

"I should just force him to swallow and shit a goby." Elphaba's hands stilled over her ingredients.

"Elphie, no."

It wasn't the worst idea.

"Elphaba Thropp, no," Glinda smacked her sore shoulder without remorse, causing Elphaba to hiss and back away from the blonde. "You're going to ask Avaric for help so that poor Vinkun doesn't suffer any more."

"Avaric doesn't know I _kissed_ him," she told Glinda.

Glinda looked at her deadpan.

"How can you be a-"

"Hey!"

"How do you not know things?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and continued making her little concoction. If this didn't work, she'd try the goby when Glinda wasn't watching her. She wasn't certain of too many things when it came to _these things,_ but Elphaba was reasonably positive a goby would work. It always worked when Avaric used them, at least, and she had seen him deal with some pretty brutal afflictions.

When she and Glinda went about their own separate tasks, Elphaba moved quietly up the stairs and down the hall to the Vinkuns' room. She brought a stool up beside the unconscious Vinkun's bed, settling herself into it cautiously. Someone had changed him into fresh clothes and seemed to tend to his hair. His brother, most likely. She had read Vinkuns held their personal relationships in high regard, so she didn't think the conscious Vinkun would let his brother sit in filth.

"All right, Fiyero Tiggular," Elphaba whispered. She pulled out her concoction and wondered where the best place to apply it would be. The lips perhaps? "If by some miracle you can understand me, then you should know I take no blame for this."

She sighed and set the concoction aside. Instead she took the warm towel from his forehead and replaced it with a cooler one sitting in a bucket on the nightstand. Elphaba bit her tongue as the skin on her hand reacted to where the water had touched her. Her hand swelled, and she watched as something beneath the green seemed to shift before settling the inflammation.

"I could not have known your system would react like this," she told him as she continued gazing at her hand. "You're better off in this odd state than dead anyway, wouldn't you agree? What's a few scenes of your memory and stolen days compared to a potentially full life?" The color of her hand slowed returned to normal, leaving behind light burn marks but nothing more.

The unconscious Vinkun, Fiyero, made a grunting sound when Elphaba grabbed his chin and angled his face toward her. He had to get better. Something had to work. The tavern would be done for if an Arjiki prince died in one of their boarding rooms. The mayor would probably take it away from her and Glinda, and Oz knew what Avaric would do when he found out she had something to do with it. Especially if he thought it was something he could have fixed.

"This should help with something," Elphaba told Fiyero and wafted the concoction toward him. "To be honest, I'm pretty terrible at all this quack medicine. But Avaric, this guy I'm fucking, is like King of the Quacks. Or, sort of. I'm not really sure. Maybe more Prince of the Quacks." Elphaba hummed to herself and fished some of the concoction out. "Well, anyway, he's fantastic at this crap, and I've picked up what won't kill you from him. Hopefully, at least."

Elphaba smeared a hefty amount on the unconscious Vinkun's tongue, gagging lightly at the feel of it. When she emptied the last of what she made, she shut his jaw and tried massaging his throat. Nothing happened at first. He remained as still as he had been, breathing not quite so evenly—if a little labored—from his nose instead of his mouth, but all-in-all, no change. But after a few more seconds had passed, Fiyero gave a violent jerk, shaking the bed.

"Shit," Elphaba murmured. "Please don't die, okay?"

The movement wasn't repeated, though, and the Vinkun remained immobile as he had been. Elphaba checked his pulse and attempted to guess his temperature, but she didn't think anything had changed. Maybe he was a little less hot? His breathing may have evened out a little bit, but she couldn't really be sure. She didn't want to admit Glinda could be right, but Elphaba wondered if calling on Avaric would be her best option. She let go of Fiyero's jaw and sighed again.

Or, perhaps, she thought, glancing at his lips. Elphaba brushed her thumb over the dry and cracked skin there. It couldn't hurt, right?

"Gah," Elphaba snapped. "You disgust me, Thropp," she told herself. "You are complete and utter trash," she added but moved from the stool to bed.

Before she could decide otherwise, Elphaba leaned over and pressed chaste kiss to his lips. She wondered how long she was supposed to stay there. Would she feel sparks? Would he suddenly gasp with life? Didn't fairytales call for lightning to strike or birds to sing? Or something? Elphaba pulled away after a few seconds and frowned.

"You disgust me," she repeated as she went back to the stool. "At least it didn't kill you, right?" she added to the still unconscious Vinkun.

Elphaba remained at the Vinkun's bedside, prattling about nonsense topics. Well, not complete nonsense, she thought. She rather liked talking about all the silly things Crope and Tibbett do and the people who happen upon the tavern. Oz forbid, she didn't even mind discussing Glinda's opinions on whether wool or cotton sweaters looked better in the autumn. Besides, mundane issues like those were probably a change from whatever the other Vinkun filled the room with. It was all talk anyway. The unconscious Vinkun was sick and feverish, he was more than likely a slave to his own thoughts and dreams.

"The last Vinkuns to come to town weren't the kindest of people," Elphaba told him after she finished a story one of the old fishermen liked to tell. "They showed up one night and paid more than necessary to rent a room for a week, and we didn't think it so horrible."

They were terrors, though. Elphaba gaze drifted toward the sea, just beyond the window of the room. It was calm and a bright blue against the blaring midday sun. She could see it glistening even from the distance, and if she were quiet—her mind and mouth—Elphaba thought perhaps she could hear it. The sea was always talking. Always lapping and clapping like a child on a sugar rush, but sometimes it was eerily silent. Sometimes it stilled and huddled in on itself like a scared animal would. That's what it did the week the other Vinkuns were in town.

"They were chasing some ridiculous fantasy," Elphaba shared, but she glanced back down at the unconscious Vinkun. His fevered blush. His chapped lips. The beads of sweat clinging to his forehead and slowly trekking down his temples. "Maybe, well, maybe not so ridiculous."

Elphaba sighed and changed the Vinkun's towel again, holding back the wince this time.

"Avaric dealt with them," she admitted. "It was a long time ago, but Vinkuns aren't well-received here anymore. When you hunt big game, you face big consequences, Master Tiggular."

The door swung open with unnecessary force, and Elphaba jumped. Takoda Tiggular followed closely behind Avaric, whose gaze was piercing and not something Elphaba particularly wanted to be on the receiving end of. Though, she was. Avaric set a pitcher he had been holding on the dresser near the door, and Takoda looked at Elphaba almost apologetically. With any luck, he'd think they were having some lover's quarrel. But, if Elphaba had to wager, she'd guess Glinda contacted Avaric.

When Avaric turned back around, Elphaba caught a whiff of some pungent smell. She brought a hand to her face and disguised her repulsion with a small cough. Avaric's disapproval was written clearly on his face, and it was further cemented as he greeted her curtly by surname.

"Glinda said you've been keeping an eye on our Vinkun guest here," Avaric said as he leaned over the unconscious Vinkun. He turned Fiyero's head back and forth, check for his heartbeat, and took a quick peak into his mouth. After the last, Avaric frowned over at Elphaba but said nothing.

"I thought, if he's aware, he could use the company," she replied.

"Who have you brought into see him so far, Master Takoda?" Avaric asked.

Takoda wrung his hands together and shook his head, "Just the surgeon Master Boq knows. He didn't really know what was wrong, just said he'd come around with some rest."

"The man's a fool," Avaric responded with a nod toward the pitcher of water and his bag beside it. "Do me a favor and pour me a glass of water and bring it over with the purple vial from my bag." When Takoda was on the other side of the room, Avaric hissed quietly, "you should have come to me about this."

Elphaba rolled her eyes.

Avaric dipped his hand in the bucket mixed with water and Fiyero's sweat. He stared down at his hand for a moment before pulling it out and grabbing something from his pocket. A goby. Elphaba smirked. She watched as he quickly dropped the fish down Fiyero's throat then hold his hand over the unconscious Vinkun's mouth. The veins in his hand shifted and its color seemed to change between various shades, but the water didn't hurt Avaric like it did Elphaba. It loved Avaric in ways Elphaba would never remember. The drying water left no burn or irritation behind. Just what appeared to be splashed indigo paint, streaking across the back of his hand.

And then the unconscious Vinkun gave a start, followed by a choking sound. Avaric withdrew his hand immediately, pocketing it as Takoda dropped something on the other side of the room. Before Elphaba could move out of his way, Takoda knocked past her to drop to his brother's side.

"Keep him on his side," Avaric instructed, and Takoda hurried to comply. "There was some sort of obstruction in his throat," he lied, "and I imagine keeping him in his back was aggravating it."

Takoda blinked back uncertainly.

"If there's no change," Avaric paused as he glanced out the window, "by morning, come fetch me."

The Vinkun nodded eagerly, and when his attention was back on his unconscious brother, Avaric grabbed Elphaba's arm and jerked her toward the door. She could _feel_ Avaric's anger radiating off of him in waves. Terrible and powerful waves a storm brings to shore. Elphaba knew his anger was sound. More than just the inhabitants of the city looked up to him, and he had a larger responsibility than to just himself and the perceived burden of their town. Avaric was not a man who could make mistakes. A Vinkun prince dying in Avaric's little coastal town was certainly a mistake, no matter that he wasn't directly connected to it.

When the door slammed shut behind them, Avaric roughly released his grip on Elphaba with a small shove. He turned his back to her and ran his hands through his hair and then down his face. Elphaba watched him warily. He wasn't a violent man. She wasn't afraid what he'd do to her or, really, anything he could have to say to her.

"Takoda said he saw me do something to his brother," Elphaba said, breaking the silence. Avaric's shoulders slumped and then raised again in a shrug.

"No one will believe him," Avaric responded, his voice heavy. Elphaba spotted Glinda out of the corner of her eye, waiting at the landing of the stairs. "He's homesick and sleep deprived. He'll sound like a raving lunatic," he added in a hushed tone, though Elphaba heard him clearly.

"What do I do if someone does believe him?" she asked, and Avaric barked out a quick, harsh laugh.

"Now you want my advice?" he said, facing her with his hands on his hips. He looked tired, and his gaze settled on Glinda who had wandered up beside Elphaba. Avaric sighed again and shook his head. "No one will believe him," he repeated firmly, "you have my word."

Avaric followed the two down to the main floor where Crope and Tibbett were handling the patrons just fine on their own. Crope openly checked Avaric out as he crossed in front of the staircase, which earned a huffed chuckle from the latter. Tibbett, on the other hand, watched the three of them with barely concealed suspicion. Elphaba had no doubt Tibbett trusted them, but she knew he wasn't quite sure what he was trusting them with or how long he could feign disinterest.

Elphaba gave Tibbett's shoulder a squeeze as she joined him behind the bar while Avaric took a seat on her end. He ordered a whiskey neat, which he would nurse for the next few hours before someone three sheets to the wind found themselves with a glass of whiskey in front of them. Avaric merely stayed for the company and conversation, although he didn't engage in either that night. He looked utterly lost in thought as he stared into the honey liquid in front of him, and, from time to time, Elphaba saw him frowning out at the nearby sea.

They didn't see the Vinkuns for the rest of the night, and when Elphaba and Avaric checked in on them, Takoda still knelt at his brother's bedside. Elphaba watched from the threshold, lightly drumming her fingers against her thigh until Avaric took her hand with a comforting squeeze. What would occur to her if something worse happened to the Vinkun prince? Elphaba wondered. There was absolutely no way anyone could believably blame her, but she worried what sort of trouble Takoda would bring down on them. The last Vinkuns were swept under the rug without so much as a second glance, but these two were royalty of sorts. Arjiki, at that. Elphaba didn't know much about the Vinkus, but she knew the Arjiki were the central strength of the territory, the de facto leadership. What could Avaric really do when confronted with a king's guard or an army?

"Let's go back to my place," Avaric suggested in a murmur.

Elphaba shook her head.

"I want to be close by," she said without taking her gaze off the Vinkuns.

Avaric nodded and kissed her temple before disappearing when Elphaba wasn't paying attention. She only noted his absence when the burn on her hand itched. Slowly the rough skin was replaced by her familiar green hue. Elphaba watched it with mild interest: what her own body could do never really ceased to amaze her. What the human body could do never ceased to amaze her. Hers was different, though, she knew. Softly shutting the Vinkuns' door, Elphaba took up a spot on the window sill a few paces from the room. She pressed herself into the corner, bringing her legs up to fill the rest of the frame and resting her perfectly green and burn-free hands on her knees.

Her paramour-or was she his paramour-returned not long after she had begun drifting off. He smelled of the sea, and Elphaba thought it was one of her favorite things about him. Avaric showed her a small envelop before tucking it in the folds of her skirt and telling her to keep it close and guarded, and then he settled on the ground in front of her with his back against the wall and head resting against the fabric of her skirt.

Whatever happened with the prince, they'd be the first to know.

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 **You'll get answers soon enough, I promise.**

 **Reviews? Eh eh?**


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